January 2024

This was a very welcome surprise when we were taking down the Christmas tree. This little tin of peanut brittle has shown up almost every year of my life for Christmas. I missed it this year when we were opening gifts. It made for a delicious treat though once I found it. 

Landon is slowly becoming the rubix cube boy at the UK games. He enjoys going to the games with me. During all the timeouts he asks me to mix up the cube so that he can solve it. He has gotten really good at it. He even got up on the big screen working his cube. Unfortunately they cut away from him right before he solved it. My buddy Nick wasn't going to be able to make it to the game so he sent his tickets to me and passes to the club where you get unlimited snacks. Landon was tearing up the buffet and the soda fountain drinks. We had a good time together sitting in the lower level and eating tons of food. Landon ate 2 boxes of popcorn, 2 cups of soda, and a cup of soft pretzels. 

I don't know if Landon really likes to wear shorts or if he just wants to be like his old man, but it does make me smile. You can't see it in this picture but he wears socks that go all the way up to his knees. Which is just like what I did when I was a kid. 

We went down to Granddaddy and Memom's house to celebrate Christmas with that side of the family. The older cousins went out and played in the back yard and found this old safe box and they broke it open to find toys inside. They were having a lot of fun playing with each other. 

We surprised Grandma and Grandpa by stopping by the house to say hello. They were happy to see all of us for a quick little stop by Livermore. 

Brinley had a school project that she worked on after school for multiple days with her friend Zoey. They made a replica Rosetta stone. I think it really turned out great. 

One Sunday after church Brinley and I went to get some hits in at D-Bats, but not before stopping and getting some Goodfellas for lunch. 

Uncle McKinley gave Landon a gift card to Battle Axes for Christmas. We found a day for us to go out and throw some axes. We all had a good time and luckily nobody got hurt which was a huge plus. 

View of the boys throwing their axes. This is the best I could do getting a picture from the front while still staying safe. 

They shared this photo on our church's social media page and I had tons of people reach out to me about it. If you know me at all then you know that I love wearing shorts. I wear them year round no matter what the weather is. I have had some people tell family members that are new to our church to drive around and go in the door with the guy in shorts. I have also had many of the regulars that I see every week say that on the way to church they talk about if I am going to be wearing shorts. I never want to let them down so I always wear them. 

I was outside shoveling off the driveway and decided to sit out on the porch and watch the snow fall. It was so beautiful coming down and it was extremely peaceful and quiet. 

Now it was a totally different story walking into work one day. It was freezing outside. Thankfully I had my neck-a-nater that my cousin Rossy had made me. It kept me warm on the mile walk.

Uncle McKinley came over to the house on a snow day to play some games. No snow day would be complete without some snow cream. We even found some sprinkles to throw on top for even more sugar.

Another home UK game means another night I get to spend with my little guy. This time he brought his pyramid cube and got on the big screen again trying to solve it. We went down to meet the players just like we always do and this time he was given the headband from Aaron Bradshaw. 

Coach Cal never really wants to give Landon a high five. I think maybe only once in 3 years has he ever reached up and given him a high five. 

Winter time means that we spend a lot more time indoors, which gives me plenty of time to work on some jigsaw puzzles. Landon helped me with this one while we were watching a movie. 

Another two months had gone by so it was time to donate blood again. Very easy way to help people and save lives. 

We made s'mores one night and Brinley's chocolate dripped off hers and it looks so much like 75&. I just had to take a picture to remember it. 

Brinley was supposed to have a babysitting class at the YMCA. We got up on a Saturday morning and headed there, but the class was cancelled. So instead we went and had a breakfast date at Brinley's favorite, Chick-fil-A.

Landon and I went to hit some balls at D-Bat and then he wanted to stop by Orange Leaf to get his free ice cream for good grades. 

On the way home from Orange Leaf Landon informed me that he pulled a tooth. Later that night he pulled two more. I have never known anyone to pull 3 teeth in one day! Pretty amazing in my opinion. 

Another night Brinley and I wanted to have a funnel cake. We fixed up the batter and then Brinley cooked them for the entire family. What isn't delicious about fried batter with powdered sugar. 

Brinley wanted to go to the ballgame with me too. She was excited about meeting up with her friends. I let her go and find them on her own. Just trying to let her have some independence. She came back with an ice cream. It was an awesome game right up until Kentucky blew the four point lead with about 20 seconds left. They went into overtime and lost. 

Landon and I were planning on going to the Kentucky vs Georgia game. Again I got a call from my buddy Nick and he had an extra ticket. We called Uncle McKinley to go with us. I sat down with Nick and McKinley and Landon sat up in my seats. I let McKinley go in the club area to get all kinds of snacks for us. He did not disappoint when he came out with pockets full of stuff. It was actually quite impressive. We all got to watch the first game of Big Z and it was magical. It was a huge spark for the Kentucky team who had not been living up to the expectations of the fanbase. Hopefully the CATS can get it together after this.